HALIFAX — Two women are facing criminal charges after police said they hosted a party on Saturday at which 23 people were cited for drinking while younger than 21, according to Trooper Travis Valcourt of the Vermont State Police.

Naomi G. Gelb, 39, and Rachel A. Dailey, 32, both of Halifax, are facing charges of furnishing alcohol to minors, enabling consumption of alcohol by minors and possession of marijuana, Valcourt said.

On Saturday around 11:30 p.m., the Vermont State Police received a complaint about suspicious activity on Thomas Hill Road in Halifax. After troopers reached the area, they found intoxicated people, who were younger than 21, in a car parked on Thomas Hill Road. The car’s occupants told police they had just left a house party on Thomas Hill Road.

Troopers located the party and obtained a search warrant from the Windham criminal court to search the home, where Dailey and Gelb are renters.

Police issued diversion paperwork to 23 people who were at the party and had been drinking although they were younger than 21.

Dailey and Gelb, who police said were present and hosting the party, were arrested and cited. They are scheduled to appear in Windham criminal court Jan. 8.

Valcourt cited a reminder from the Vermont Department of Health about the dangers of hosting an underage drinking party. The reminder pointed out that the effects of underage and binge drinking are just as dangerous at a private home as they would be in any other setting. Attendees may be taking medications or have a history of addiction, details that the adult hosting the party wouldn’t know in advance.

“Not only are you liable and criminally responsible for underage drinking at your home, you also have a responsibility keep children safe, even if doing that goes against what they want,” Valcourt said.

For more information on the dangers of underage drinking, visit the website at www.healthvermont.gov.